When comparing ESP8266 vs Raspberry Pi Zero + Wi-Fi dongle, the Slant community recommends Raspberry Pi Zero + Wi-Fi dongle for most people. In the question“What are the best single-board computers with Wi-Fi support under $10?” Raspberry Pi Zero + Wi-Fi dongle is ranked 2nd while ESP8266 is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Raspberry Pi Zero + Wi-Fi dongle is:
It's widely supported and you'll find a lot of resources on how to get whatever you want to do done on Raspberry Pi. It's as of 2014 still the most famous single-board computer (just check eBay).
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Pros
Pro Cheap
Pro Large community
It's widely supported and you'll find a lot of resources on how to get whatever you want to do done on Raspberry Pi. It's as of 2014 still the most famous single-board computer (just check eBay).
Pro Good performance for the price
The Raspberry Pi Zero has a 1 GHz ARMv6 CPU and 512MB of RAM.
Pro Supports the Raspberry Pi Foundation
Raspberry Pi Foundation promotes studying computer science in schools.
Cons
Con Not much memory
Con No onboard stoarge
The device has a microSD slot and needs a card to act as storage.
Con Wi-Fi dongle takes up the only peripheral USB port
Pi Zero has 2 USB ports - one for peripherals, the other one for power. Since getting Wi-Fi on the Pi Zero requires a USB dongle that takes up the only peripheral USB port, a USB hub might be needed to attach keyboard and mouse.